There are so many titles releasing on a regular basis, but many gamers only have a limited amount of time to invest in their favorite hobby. Firewatch is critically acclaimed, and I have only recently been able to sit down and give the title a go. Touted as a modern masterpiece by many outlets, I eagerly picked up the game over the past holiday season hoping that it lived up to the hype.

The game begins with some basic choices pertaining to your relationship with your wife Julia. These are not major game changers, but will alter the story directly depending on the choices you make. I found this opening to be very emotional, as a husband who is very in love with his wife. This works as a prologue of sorts, giving you plenty of backstory on our protagonist Henry.

After the events that unfold in the prologue, Henry begins his hike to his watch tower, which is a summer job he has taken in a remote Colorado national park. The story is the biggest draw for this, so I would recommend skipping the rest of this paragraph and the next paragraph and going in sight unseen if you haven’t played it yet. After reaching his post, he is welcomed by his supervisor Delilah who has her own post across the park from you. You’ll spend a great deal of the game communicating with her via radio. Your first few days on duty are uneventful, until some fireworks are spotted being let off in the distance. Delilah tasks you with locating the offenders before they burn down the forest. Like most of the events in the game, you’ll have a few options with how you want to handle the campers in question. After resolving the situation and heading back to your post, you’ll encounter another individual that runs off quickly upon being discovered. Being that you’re in a public park, this shouldn’t be too big of a concern… or should it? As time progresses, more and more coincidences pop up making you question whether you really are being followed, or if it’s all in Henry’s head.

Exploring the region surrounding the area you are assigned to, you will find notes left from past firewatchers and people visiting the park. Thorough investigation uncovers that the region is known for some disappearances as well as bear attacks, which gave me an occasional sense of unease. Finding these items will open up additional dialogue options with Delilah, who at times does not seem to be who she says she is. Communicating with her is a bit cumbersome at first, as you’ll have to hold the left trigger to open dialogue options and then use the right trigger to cycle through them. The options opened up by exploring are not timed, but you’ll be timed during the conversations similar to any of the Telltale dialogue choices.

I found the story to be engaging, although once the mystery is solved, the game feels a bit empty. While en route to the final destination at the end of the game, I was hoping for some sort of confrontation that never came. It has closure, but it is a bit of a letdown with the tension that builds throughout the final act. I definitely don’t regret playing the game, but I was left with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth as the credits rolled.

The slightly cartoonish visuals work well here making the lush landscapes you explore extremely appealing. While most of the environment is highly stylized, you’ll notice a lot of textures that are in the vein of the Telltale’s more recent entries coupled with a character design akin to Rare’s upcoming Sea of Thieves. You may come across some plant life that has petals or flowers that appear flat, though it rarely breaks immersion. The park offers a wide variety of flora and fauna you may come across, which makes certain areas standout more than others. One particularly awe inspiring moment was coming across an old, dead tree that sat in the middle of a field with its branches stretched out as far as the field of vision allowed.

Navigating the lush landscape is easy to do once you get the map mechanics down. While most games would offer a crumb trail showing you where to go, Firewatch notes on the map where the player came from, which was a bit jarring for me at first. You will have to rely on the map, which is updated regularly with points of interest or goals as well as a compass to progress through the story. My biggest gripe with this is the inability to run or jog while pulling up the map, as if the tiny piece of paper prevented you from walking at more than a snail’s pace.

It’s not the groundbreaking title that most outlets have made it out to be, but Firewatch is worth your time, although I would recommend picking it up on sale as I did. Running at around 4 hours, depending on how often you get lost or take the less direct route, there isn’t much replay value; unless you wish to experience the same mediocre ending multiple times.

7 out of 10

Pros

• Beautiful Visuals
• Interesting Story

Cons

• Ending Falls Flat
• Minor Visual Inconsistencies

Firewatch was developed by Campo Santo and published by Campo Santo in conjunction with Panic Inc. It launched on PC and PS4 in February 2016, and on X1 September 2016 for $19.99. The game was not provided to us for review on X1. For more on Firewatch, check out the game’s official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

 

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